A week after that bitter realization struck her in the basketball court corridor, Claire felt as though her world had fallen into an unfamiliar rhythm. Every little detail about Aru was now etched sharply into her mind: the way he tousled his hair in frustration while memorizing Physics formulas, the way his laughter shattered the silence in the Student Council office, and the habit he had of looking deeply into her eyes whenever he was serious. Everything had become ammunition, tearing apart Claire's composure.
Keeping her feelings to herself was exhausting. It felt like hiding a burning coal in her clenched hand—the longer she held on, the more it scorched her from within.
"Claire, spacing out again?"
The clink of a glass against the wooden table startled Claire. She looked up and found Nana, her best friend in class, had just sat down across from her with two cartons of strawberry milk.
"I'm not," Claire protested, adjusting her glasses. She pulled over the draft of the Student Council meeting agenda that she had been staring at without actually reading.
Nana narrowed her eyes, studying Claire with the sharp scrutiny of a seasoned observer. "Liar. You're terrible at lying, Claire. You've been awfully quiet for a week. Whenever Aru's around, you suddenly get busy with something else. But the second Aru leaves, your eyes follow him everywhere."
Nana's blunt observation left Claire stunned. The fingers gripping her pen suddenly went rigid. "Is it really that obvious?"
Nana let out a long sigh, then took a drink of her milk. "Claire, I've been your friend since middle school. I can understand why you hesitate with anyone else, but when it comes to Aru, you're incredibly easy to read. You... like him, don't you?"
Claire fell silent. Silence crept between them for several seconds. For the first time, the tightness she had kept bottled up found a way out. She lowered her head and nodded slowly.
"Yeah," Claire whispered, almost inaudible amid the lunchtime cafeteria crowd. "I like Aru, Na. And I don't know what to do."
Nana gave her a faint smile, relief and sympathy mingling on her face. "Why don't you know what to do? You and Aru have been together for years. If there's anyone who knows Aru inside and out, it's you. So why not just tell him?"
"It's not that easy, Nana," Claire replied, stirring her melted iced tea. "We've been childhood friends since we were little. If I confess and he doesn't feel the same way, our friendship will be over. I don't want to lose him just because of my own selfishness."
"But if you stay silent, are you really willing to watch someone else take him away?" Nana cut in quickly. Her voice dropped, but her emphasis was impossible to miss.
"You can see it yourself, can't you? Claudia's coming on stronger and stronger to Aru. And Aru's the kind of guy who's clueless when it comes to girls. He won't notice anything unless you make the first move."
Nana's words struck Claire right in the solar plexus. Claudia's name sent another wave of anxiety burning through her chest. Nana was right: Aru was friendly to everyone, and that innocence could easily be mistaken for a green light by a girl as bold as Claudia.
"Then what should I do?" Claire asked softly, looking at Nana with an expression that pleaded for guidance.
"Tell him," Nana answered firmly.
"Make a plan. Tell him how you feel before it's too late. At least even if things don't turn out the way you hope, you'll have fought for it—and you won't spend the rest of your life wondering."
The plan finally came together. There would be no fireworks or grand declaration in front of a crowd. Claire wasn't that kind of sentimental girl. She chose a method that reflected their relationship best: simple, honest, and warm.
Friday afternoon, after extracurricular activities ended.
Claire deliberately asked Aru to help her organize the Student Council warehouse on the second floor, a relatively deserted place that few students passed through after school. Inside her bag, Claire had already prepared a small letter, tucked inside Aru's History notebook, which she had borrowed the day before. The letter contained her confession, written with painstaking care over three consecutive nights.
"Why does it have to be this afternoon, Claire? And the warehouse is so hot," Aru complained as he lifted a cardboard box filled with old banners onto the highest shelf.
The athletic shirt he wore was slightly damp with sweat. Aru wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, then turned to look at Claire, who was pretending to record the inventory on her clipboard.
"If we don't organize it now, we'll be even more behind on next week's blood drive preparations, Aru," Claire replied. Her voice sounded steady, even though her heart was pounding like a drum inside her chest.
Aru walked closer, then sat down on an old wooden table in the corner of the warehouse. He looked at Claire with a mischievous smile she knew all too well.
"Seriously, whether we're at home or at school, all you ever do is order me around. Pretty soon, I'm going to start charging you for my services as your personal assistant."
Claire let out a soft giggle. She walked toward Aru and stopped exactly two steps in front of him.
"Aru," Claire called. The smile on her face faded, replaced by a serious expression she rarely showed.
Aru raised one eyebrow, noticing the change in his childhood friend's tone. "What is it, Claire? Why do you look so tense?"
Claire reached into her backpack and pulled out Aru's blue-covered History notebook. Her fingers trembled faintly around its edge. This was it. The plan she had made with Nana had to be carried out now.
I have to tell him, Claire encouraged herself. Whatever his answer is, I have to be ready.
"Your History notebook. Thanks for lending it to me," Claire said as she held it out. The confession letter was neatly tucked inside the first page.
Aru reached out to take it. "Oh, right. No problem, Claire—"
Just before Aru's fingers touched the notebook, the phone in the pocket of his athletic shorts suddenly vibrated violently, accompanied by a loud ringtone.
Aru stopped. He pulled out his phone, and in that instant, the relaxed expression on his face transformed into an unmistakable combination of surprise, excitement, and joy.
Claire froze. She recognized that look—the look of someone receiving news from someone very special.
"Hang on, Claire. It's... from Claudia," Aru said, his voice suddenly stumbling with nerves.
Aru hurriedly swiped the green answer button and pressed the phone to his ear without taking the notebook from Claire's hand.
"Hey, Claud? Yeah, I'm still at school... What is it?"
Aru listened to the voice on the other end, his eyes sparkling. A wide smile slowly bloomed across his lips, a smile Claire had never seen on Aru before—the smile of a boy falling in love.
Claire stood rooted to the spot. Her left hand, still clutching the History notebook, slowly went limp and fell to her side. The confession that had been sitting on the tip of her tongue suddenly felt bitter and solid as stone.
"Really, Claud? You... you're serious?" Aru sounded wildly excited, almost unable to believe what he had just heard over the phone. "Okay, okay! I'll come to the front gate right now!"
Aru ended the call, breathing hard with excitement. He jumped down from the wooden table, completely unaware of how pale Claire looked standing just one step away.
"Claire! I swear, I have to go right now!" Aru exclaimed, grabbing his backpack carelessly.
"A-Aru... what's going on?" Claire asked, her voice catching in her throat.
Aru turned to her, his eyes shining with overflowing happiness.
"Claudia, Claire! Claudia's waiting for me at the front gate!" Aru said, his voice trembling with joy. "She said she wants to talk about something important concerning our feelings. Claire, I'll see you later! I'll tell you all about it at home tonight!"
Without waiting for Claire's response, Aru sprinted out of the Student Council warehouse. His footsteps echoed loudly as he ran down the stairs, growing fainter and more distant until silence reclaimed the stuffy room.
Claire stood alone in the dim warehouse.
The History notebook in her hand felt impossibly heavy. She slowly opened the front cover and stared at the white envelope containing her confession, which had never gotten the chance to change hands.
All the courage she had gathered over the past week shattered into pieces within mere seconds. The plan she had arranged so carefully now felt like the cruelest joke fate had ever created.
Claire squeezed her eyes shut, crushing the white envelope in her fist until it wrinkled. A single tear escaped and slid down her cheek, landing squarely on the cold concrete floor.
To be continued..